Another perspective

Tuesday, 20 July 2010

Francis Alÿs

The Belgian born artist strikes again with a though provoking mixture of his most praised work. Francis Tate Moderns much anticipated Francis Alÿs exhibition has been the most talked about show in London. His mixed media works is though provoking and easy to comprehend in regards to his

work being influenced by similar themes. What seems to hold the interest of all like-minded tourist and regular Tate visitors is the heavy emphasis on migration and border control issues. the first piece that was arresting to my eye and many viewers is the small but conveniently placed small canvas torn in the middle cutting through the canvas and merged into the wall seems like an earthquake crack imprinted on a canvas, which may subsequently be the intention of Alÿs great interest in geography as an architect himself his enthusiasm for architecture is seen throughout his work.

Walking through the spacious monotonous a picture motion loop is running, it’s a murky view of road in what looks like a border crossing perhaps the Mexico-USA border. This types of images of border politics is the theme surrounding most of Alÿs works. ‘The Loop’ is a simple idealist view of an ocean that is the crossing from the South American city Tijuana with the departure date being June 2, Alÿs leaves a trail of the cities he stops for to make his journey to San Diego within 35 days trip around the countries reside on border of the Pacific ocean, this countries were Tijuana to San Diego via Mexico City, Panama City, Santiago, Tahiti, Auckland, Sydney, Singapore, Bangkok, Rangoon, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul, Anchorage, Vancouver, and Los Angeles. “7% of the total travelling time has been spent in 17 airports over 16 countries. ” (A. Francis).

Another outstanding work is ‘The Green Line’ Alÿs discovery of his signature style ‘the leak’ which is performed by dripping paint from a bottle to mark a line for an artistic purpose. The Green Line is significant historical divide of the Israel-Jordan border after the 6 days war in 1967 which ended with a cease fire and subsequently the dividing line which was marked in green grease pencil, the area is now know as the West bank. Alÿs reflects on this walking silently through the border with dripping green paint from a bottle. “Sometimes doing something poetic can become political, and sometimes doing something political can become poetics”

this is written before the entrance to the motion picture of Alÿs Green Line.

Beyond all this there is also great piece such as the ‘Re-enactments’ that shows a re-enactment of Alÿs witness

of a random day in Mexico city in where he had seen a man buy a gun from a gun shop and walked openly through the street until he is stopped by the police. Alÿs re-enactment of this scene took him 12mins until he is eventually stopped by the policy. Other pieces include small picture motion and scene of the ‘rehearsal’, with the caption ‘Modernity is pornography’ a strong statement that can be arguable. ‘When faith moves’ is an emotional piece where the artist gathers 500 Peruvian students to voluntarily walk up in line up a san dune on the outskirts of the city, digging while walking and displacing the sand dune by a few centimetres. Again the artist touches a bit of politics with the principle of ‘maximum effort, minimal result’

a phrase used by many Latin American on the modernisation scheme. On the video some of the voluntaries are interviewed one voluntary says ‘when we started getting to the end, everyone started shovelling faster’ as most of Alÿs video motions touch on certain topics, this particular piece triggers the issue of immigration and border crossing in South America.

Friday, 26 March 2010

whats the deal with Weddings!!!

It seems like every young girls dream to have the very best fairy tale wedding with all the trimming or even a horse and a carriage if possible;well that is possible in the Carriesque setting of the SATC girls. SO what does a wedding mean for the ordinary girl in London who has never thought of the day as much as the next girl. i often find my self flipping the pages of Brides magazines and endlessly dreaming of the day that will inevitably happen sometime in the future; even though there is still the Mr RIGHT to find. Perhaps i should google him. without a double that seems to be the option for the modern city girl out to look for a future husband. with so many website such as Match.com Parship.com eharmony.co.uk there is an endless list of site that offer the services to find you a compatibility and "match the "whole" you—your personality, lifestyle, values and preferences—the key elements that create the most successful, lasting relationships." another site states marriage success in the US for couples found through "eHarmony is responsible for 2% of marriages in the US*". That is quite a number for the population of 308,941,916 the remaining two percent would be 6 178 838.32. we have seen so many Hollywood blockbuster to mention a few in my DVD collection My Best Friend's Wedding(1997),My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002),The Wedding Planner (2001),Runaway Bride (1999),Meet the Parents (2000),The Notebook (2004), 27dresses(2008) and of course the sensational Bride Wars which became the most popular yet comical wedding movie of 2009. Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway are two best friends who dream of getting the perfect wedding at the Plaza since they were little, who later on got engaged at the same time. the two best friends were inseparable until they find out their wedding date at the Plaza have been mixed up and are set on the same day. So it also seems that once quiet girl next door can turn out to be your worst nightmare Bridzilla smashing everything on her path until she i absolutely satisfied with the decision and ofcourse she will not be happy nor satisfied well not at least until the day is over.

Monday, 8 March 2010

It’s a family business

However hard it might be opening a business in London it seem that the Eritrean community is flourishing and expanding our business community. With many families seeing an opportunity to open business such as restaurant, supermarket, coffee shop, traditional clothing boutique, Internet shop and other business sector the Eritrean business family are ceasing the opportunity and jumping in the business pool regardless of the recession pulling back many fields in business. Having spoken to some family business owner in London I have some insight into the work and responsibility need to open and successfully run a business in the UK. Conversing with diverse business such as Mosob Restaurant, Red Sea Restaurant and Isu hair gave me a different look at the types of business around London and their ability to keep their business running with the foundation of it all being the Eritrean principles the back bone and support you need coming from your family.

The family owned Mosob restaurant is one of the most talked about new restaurant in our community. As a fairly new restaurant having opened for business in 2004 it is a highly urban-chic restaurant designed with extraordinary craft that make up the unique restaurant in the heart of West London’s Westbourne Park. After the family migrating from Ethiopia during the recent war like most Eritrean migrant affected by the war they had left everything behind but picked up a new life and started to works as hard only this time beginning from scratch. Despite the success of the business Benyam tells me he is still surprised at the outcomes and the business turnout. However, brothers Benyam and Daniel have always aspired to be their own bosses and thought they would always work together in the future; accordingly they have turned around a small family business into a ‘home away from home’ gem in the heart of London’s busy streets.

Eritrean business in the UK share the same essence in management as most business tend to be family run the working environment is professional yet relaxed which is beneficial to businesses as Benyam notes ‘ we were brought up together so its the same energy’. Similarly the family run business Isu Hair has been running a successful salon for many year having picked up the talent from their family business back home they always had it in running in their blood. Isu points out that working closely with sibling mean every family member in the business is responsible for the business, he emphasised on the importance of holding responsibility individually which sets a family business far apart from a business owned by one person. The essential part of owning a business as Isu tells me is that “the business must have continuity to succeed”. According to Benyam working with siblings means its easier to work together as having been brought up together they are likely to share the same idea. “Hunger determination knowing everybody’s trait” is what keeps the business running. Similarly Reds Sea owner Idris relies on the honesty and trustworthy of working with a sibling that benefits them as a family running a business together it is essential to have a clear mind and understanding at work and to take full responsibility with equal share in managing the business. It is not too surprising to find out that the main emphasis on all owner is the responsibility of each family member which keeps them steadfast in working together efficiently especially with the energy they pulling together to achieve a greater future prospect.

The best advise for those thinking of opening a business is to become fearless as Benyam tells me never to be fearful and to embrace failure as “Making mistakes teaches you a lot” never be afraid to try something new and look for new ideas and inspiration from culture around us. Nevertheless, Mosob seems to be far off from mistakes every detail of the restaurant is run in a graceful and professional manner from hygiene to administration of their business, I say that these are the essential secret in keeping a successful business as every detail is consequential in running a business. Furthermore, the close neat family business is run by siblings Daniel a product and web designer who handles all design and marketing aspect of the restaurant along with sister Suliana who graduated from London College of Fashion as a designer she is also responsible for the creative aspects of the restaurant. Their mother as the heart and soul of Mosob is responsible for the smooth running of the kitchen having put together the traditional recipes in a presentable manner.

Living with you sibling surely is a tricky time but working with sibling only seem to bring a family together. The feedback I had from all the owner seem that they are more than happy to be working together with their sibling, Idris tells me “of course there are problems when working but how you solve it is the important thing, and always solve problems and know the weakness and strengthen”. Having the assurance of a brother or sister working with you give you more confidence because you are fully aware of their ability which mean you can bring all your strengthen and use you it to maximise you business potential.

Red Sea is one restaurant that captures the essence of customer needs by assessing the requirements of their local customers. Having a steady success since its opening Red Sea two years and running to their third year soon, Idris tells me that Eritrea has a rich culture, having grown up in Massawa his vision for the restaurant is pretty clear. He along with his two brothers envisioned an Eritrean restaurant that brings the rich culture with the fusion of Eritrean, Ethiopian and Yemeni cuisine. Their main aim is to bring the rich Eritrean culture to different communities he points out “we are proud to share our culture and this helps us to spread our business and to expand it ”, Idris truly believes the importance of bringing cultures together especially relation with the African community and the Arab community as we share a lot of similarities with them.

Throughout my dialogue with this eccentric family businesses I have found that the resonant message is the importance of running a business successfully is the work and responsibility you must apply to succeed. Having run all their businesses successful we can look at these business owners and look for inspiration and hope for our young and thriving community in succeed and work hard in the same way that they have reached their achievements. The most important idea to have in succeeding in your chosen field is to show fearlessness and confidence to support you in you future. And always remembering that the sky is the limit and reaching for the starts is not only an expression to use but to actually use it in you life and making something of yourself is the ultimate success especially for our young and vibrant community in the Diaspora.

Thursday, 31 December 2009

Domestic abuse

Individuals that have experienced the harsh blows of domestic violence walk through life without notice with a dark shadow underlining their past or worst their present situation. One of the reasons domestic violence is silent and disregarded over communities maybe because the victim feels they deserve the treatment and are constantly though they are worthless by their partner. Why has domestic violence become a taboo issue, shouldn’t our community be warned and protected.

Statistic show that women who have been victims of domestic abuse are more exposed to misusing alcohol and drugs as a form of escapism. In the UK alone statistic shows that at least two women are killed in a week because of domestic violence. Overall one in four women experience domestic abuse and are victims of violence from their partner or a close relation. Domestic violence can effect anyone from young people to old, men and women different races and different classes from rich to poor various religions. Recently we have been following the tragedy of the R&B singer Rihanna who was physically abused by Chris Brown her boyfriend and also an equally popular singer. The story shocked the world simply because it was something that has not been publicised before, what happen after days also interested and shocked the public.

Victims of domestic abuse fade in the background as they have trouble sharing their problems due to their partner control over them. Women affected by domestic violence are sensitive when it comes to discussing relationships and domestic issues. More often their abusive partners can have a controlling nature and will have access to their privacy anything from bank card details, email passwords, mobile privileges or anything that she may use on the daily basis.

Women in serious relationship maybe inclined to hide their private life by smiling and acting as if all is well. The victim can feel pressured by the abuser to cut out close relation and only give more attention to the partner than to friends or family. The abuser often tries to persuade the victim in thinking that other people do not care about her, and the only person she can trust is the partner. Finding a person to share their feeling can become even harder, close relations to the victim such as friends and family may also be driven away by the partner by stopping communication between family and friends or even being present at every phone call or conversation to stop anything slipping out. Abusive partner can be manipulative and obsessive, in the Eritrean community it might be hard to measure a relationship from outside as we all know it is within our culture to hide our flaws and make everything seem fine even if the situation at home going from bad to worst we are forced to smile and shine through our problems tirelessly.

Victims of domestic abuse show signs that can be picked up by friends easily, physical signs include injuries such as cuts and bruises or stiffness when moving are primary. These signs should raise suspicion especially when the victim is reluctant to discuss or gives irrelevant explanations. Less obvious signs include the emotional stability of the individual things to look out for include; feeling down, crying or seeming disturbed or appearing less confident than before also breaking away from social scene.

Women who are victims of domestic abuse are in danger of attempting suicide as they are more likely to be effected mental. Home office shows that 75% of domestic abuse victims result in physical injury and mental health. A women abused by her partner may develop depression faster than women in stable relationship. Statistic shows that abused women are five times more likely to attempt suicide. This can be during their abusive relationship or even afterwards as the memory can have a lasting effect mentally. It is important to remember that woman in difficult relationship are sensitive and should be helped in anyway possible. If you know or suspect somebody in an abusive relationship make sure you do not judge him or her or intervene in their relationship as you could put them in deeper problem with their partner. Show them an open arm and listen to them as they will need somebody they can trust who will not simply tell them to leave their partner. It is easier to slowly try to show them the true colours of their partner.

In the Diaspora Eritrean women may feel less able to communicate with the police or any organisation that may be able to help them. As an ethnic minority they may not feel strong enough to communicate with the police due to language barriers or immigration status. However, Women’s helpline should be approached either by phone or by visiting the nearest women’s aid centre. In some centre they may have different language available if the centre lacks translators it may be ideal to take somebody who speaks your language. Women’s Aid is an international organisation committed to the aid of women who have experienced abuse. The women’s Aid organisation also work to bring awareness to the public by distribution of leaflet and video campaigns. Hot Peach Pages are a collective source page on he internet, leaflet in 82 language including Tigrinya are found and can be printed for distribution.

Sexual violence is also a sensitive issue, especially in the Eritrean community women are advise from a young age not to discuss private matter. The question of sex outside of marriage is a taboo topic in our society, this should not be the case as we see that young women get into more trouble and are stuck with unwanted pregnancies or sexually transmitted diseases due to lack of education and awareness. Additionally our community can learn more from western society by showing openness and impartiality as opposed to judgemental decisions that leave the troubled individual in a deeper and problematic situation without a solution to solve any problem.

In the UK almost half of the women who have experienced domestic abuse are sexual abused by the same partner. 48% of women are forced to have intercourse with their partner and this is ignored as some may think it is normal for women to have intercourse some may also think they are obliged to carry out to their partners ever need. Off course most women do not share these details as they feel ashamed and embarrassed so it is important to be impartial when talking to a victim. Making emphais on legal action is important as the victim need to press charges or else he could do it to other women. In most cases this is the situation, as so many domestic abuse go unnoticed and unreported it is likely that the abuser will leave his mark at every relationship, after all a tiger never changes his spots.